Champions Part II: Fist of Aegis
by The Golden Bathtub
Summary: After the victory in Boston, the Champions are still in high spirits after the defeat of the Darkbeast. But then after a mission goes very wrong, they're met with a new foes, and not Darkbeast, but Human. A highly advanced Private Military Corporation named Aegis plans on taking down the Champions and seizing means to the Nexus. Now it's up to the Champions to defeat Aegis.
1. Our Champions

AN: Hello everyone, this is a continuation from a previous story I did forever and a half ago. Though this is a "sequel", I view it much more as a reattempt since I read over it recently and I feel as if it could've been better. In order for you to understand what's going on you may have to read the previous title. Thanks for your time, and I hope you have a very enjoyable read.

* * *

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

On top one of the many skyscrapers in the beautiful Brazilian city, Brock sat on the edge of the skyscraper with a leg dangling of the edge. Standing behind him was Artemis, a friend, a master, and someone he genuinely liked being around. Quiet moments like these, watching the parade from afar set him at ease which was something he needed. Especially after saving the world and going back to being a nobody.

"I wish I could go down there." Artemis muttered to herself.

"Really? Looks fun doesn't it?" Brock aksed.

"It reminds me of festivals back at home, I don't miss them but I'd like to see one."

"Carnival is nice, I would take you but I don't want you to end up a dancer."

"Back at home there were dancers at the festivals. I remember a thing or two, not only that but a fellow Godess Kali taught me the art of belly dancing." After Artemis had said that Brock's eyes widened a bit, his mind wandering off to rather lewd thoughts. With a light tint flaring on his cheeks, he asked.

"Oh...that's nice of her, perhaps some time you could show me?" He slyly suggested.

"Sorry Brock, it's an intimate dance."

He smiled to play off his disappointment, looking back down to the parade making it's way through the street. Rarely did he ever get the chance to view the Carnival so closely, it was usually through the screen of a television. The bright lights and colors dancing around set him in a trance, he was captured by the beauty of the show. A hand found itself on his shoulder, he was surprised at the suddenness of Artemis. Her touch radiated an odd warmth, something that was very foreign to him. It was almost motherly in nature, he looked up at the woman, his eyes met hers as the sounds of the party seemed to fade away. She stood at least three or found inches above him, he wasn't the tallest Champion after all. After a moment in staring into each other in silence, Artemis spoke.

"You will always be my Hunter, even if the Elders will it." Even though he had no idea what would bring her to say this. He appreciated moments of genuine emotion Artemis and him shared. He didn't mind her usual sass, sarcasm, and snark it was nice for her to stop and be real with him.

"And you'll always be my friend, even if the Elders are against it." His response brought on a warm smile in return, they went back to watching the festival like before.

If he were asked if before this day if he had anything for Artemis, he would've said yes. But now, he knew he was in love with her. If he had the chance, he'd marry the woman right on the spot. If he were able to marry Artemis without anyone knowing, which would be impossible. It was considered taboo amongst both Gods and Champions to pursue a relationship with their partner. Jayson was an exception due to his popularity amongst the Nexus. He wanted to avoid the embarrassment of telling his friends, and marriage was overrated anyways. But for now, Brock was content with staying as just an apprentice.

* * *

Toronto, Canada

"This is bullshit." Suzie had muttered under her breath, she was currently struggling with college work. She also cursed her decision to got to college, Cabrakhan annoyed her to no end about going to college. She knew college would be a lot of work for her but she wasn't aware of this much. Entire mountains of work were piled on top of her desk, she only arrived last week and already wanted to graduate. She'd rather do anything else than all this meaningless corporate bullshit.

"I really wish I could hang with the team again. I'm really starting to miss them." Suzie glanced up at her computer, her background was of her and the team taking a picture at Margret's house. It was the night of the big party, that night she met her best friends for the first time. She really wished she could go back to when things were simple. Even if that meant she wouldn't be a champion. She wanted a normal life, she didn't even know why she was a champion.

"I need a break, good thing Amir isn't here. He'd pitch a fit if he caught me smoking, him and Cabrakhan." Suzie pulled a rather long joint from a bag off the floor next to her desk. She fished a lighter from her pocket and gave it a light. Smoking was strictly prohibited on campus, but Suzie being the free spirit she is, she disregarded campus rules and did her own thing. If Cabrakhan saw her now, he'd be very disappointed in her. Giving up on an assignment and engaging in "delinquent activities". At this point she was too far into her smoke break for her to care about how Cabrakhan felt. She felt all her troubles slip away within a few short minutes, so what if her project was due tomorrow? She was in the zone. As a matter of fact she was so zoned out that she didn't her the lock turn and hear Amir walk through the door.

"What the hell Susan?!" Suzie was startled by the man's entrance, he began coughing as he inhaled the smoke. It was as if his presence caused her to sober up entirely.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry Amir!"

"Susan we're gonna get in so much trouble this time. I told you to stop smoking in the dorm!"

Suzie leaned back in the computer chair and continued. She planted her feet on the table and started to slowly seep back into her zone.

"Get your feet off my computer Susan, you're gonna mess it up."

She couldn't help but laugh at the irritated foreign exchange student. Ever since they became roommates she enjoyed getting reactions out of him, whether it be braking rules or flirting. Some times a bit of both.

"You don't like my fuzzy socks? I bought em for you." She put on her best sad puppy face causing the boy to get flustered.

"Let's not do this Susan, you know both of us could get kicked out. And if I get kicked out I'm going back to Britain, then I'll end up going back to India." The concern in Amir's voice was very evident, and she was loving it.

"C'mon Amir, you're so uptight. Just shut up and smoke with me."

"No, I can't deal with this anymore, I'm going to find a new roommate." Amir began to pack his things, she was surprised he was actually going through with this. "I've stayed in here too long, and I'm not going to risk expulsion by residing in this dorm anymore."

She couldn't let Amir leave, who would do her homework or run out and get her snacks. Also who would she tease when not in the Nexus, and she almost forgot he's good company. He had all his things gathered and was just about to leave when she spoke up.

"If you stay I'll give you a kiss on the cheek." Amir froze in place and began to unpack all his things.

"I can't believe you make me do these things. You truely are a silver tongued vixen."

"I missed you too Amir."

* * *

Saint Petersburg, Russia

"Alright, let's try again." Dmitri stated as he pulled up the smaller Champion onto their feet.

"Can't we go on a date like regular people?" Aaliyah asked.

"Doesn't a dinner and movie sound boring though? It's too slow for my taste."

Aaliyah rolled her eyes at his statement.

"And you don't think sparing is too fast for me? I didn't have a problem doing this the first few times, but now it's ridiculous. Can't we just be like other couples?" Her question caused him to cup his chin and think. Perhaps he'd give what she said some serious thought.

"Nah, we aren't a regular couple. We're cooler."

Never mind that, he didn't put thought into it. She could forgive him for being somewhat naive early on in the relationship. But they had been together for three months and haven't been on the ideal date. To most a date at the very least is a dinner and movie, but to Dmitri it was throwing his girlfriend around on a practice. And it wasn't in a good way.

"I don't know about you, but tossing around your girlfriend isn't what people would call...a date. That and you're not very affectionate, the first month was great, then things went down hill. You treat me like I'm one of your little friends instead of a girlfriend."

"Well isn't that the point?" Dmitri asked.

Aaliyah raised a brow, not knowing exactly what he meant.

"You're my girl-friend correct? I do what I do with my friends, except with you."

Dmitri found himself on his rear end from Aaliyah slapping him across the cheek. She stormed off out of his home and left Russia via portal.

"Damn, girls are a handful." He muttered and tapped the red stinging hand print on his cheek.

* * *

Boston, Masachusetts

In Boston, Oscar was having a crisis of his own. Boston was still under heavy reconstruction from the battle and even a curfew had been enacted. A reflecting pool and memorial wall had been built as well, it was something Oscar found himself visiting regularly. Coming to terms with the what happened that day, but moving past it was the tough part. He still had dreams about it, he even had the scar left from where the Darkbeast pierced his chest. But in the not so wise words of Suzie.

"It's the down side of a job like this, we have to make the hard choices and have to deal with the consequences." Her words found their way into his head. Every now and then she had a her spurts of brilliance, but that was as rare as blue moon.

" If only school was as easy as being a champion." He muttered under his breath as he entered the classrooms. Oscar took his seat in the back of the class since most seats were already filled in. Since the class hadn't started yet he drew his phone from his pocket, Brock had messaged him two minutes ago, pestering him about the usual.

'I know you may think it's weird, but you should totally go after Bellona.'

He let out a deep sigh, it wasn't that he thought it was gross or immoral to be with a God. But there was a severe discomfort at the thought of it, mainly when it came to things like mortality and the fact his life would be in her hands. Bellona was beautiful, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it, but those were just thoughts. Not only that, but when there's an alien demon invasion and you're going through puberty, you're mind isn't in the right place. He looked back down at his phone and responded quickly.

'Not happening Espinosa.' He made sure to include Brock's surname to make sure Brock felt the added venom.

'Fine, is there at least a someone? ;)' Oscar smirked, and then gave Brock his answer.

'No, there's no one. I'm flying solo.'

Oscar glances up to see if the teacher finally entered the classroom. The teacher wasn't there but standing in the doorway was someone that caught his eye, a girl with beautiful chestnut brown hair. Her locks ran just right past his ear lobes, which were studded with diamonds. She had lovely fair skin, not too pale nor tan, and her eyes were that of an icey blue. Oscar found himself staring and oggoling like the love struck fool he is. Her head began to turn in his direction, his head shot down so that he could avoid making eye contact with her.

So maybe there was some one. But Brock didn't have to know, as a matter of fact no one had to know. Except Jayson, he really needed some advice. Even though Oscar could handle most girls, some one like her, left him a quivering mess. He'd been fortunate enough to converse with her a few times and was lucky enough to not embarrass himself. However, just the thought of embarrassment deterred him from doing so. How could he save the world from utter annhilation, but be reduced to a child when in the presence of a pretty girl. He looked up from his phone only to realize the girl had disappeared from her spot.

"Hey, are you Oscar Holloway?" Her voice startled him on the inside, despite it being so soft and soothing to the ear.

"Uhh, yeah that's me, what's up?" He attempted to play off his nervousness with bravado and swagger. He was unsure if it was working, but she hasn't walked off laughing so the odds were in his favor.

"So you're the guy who I've been hearing about." His eyes widened a bit, he was screaming on the inside and his mind went to the worse case scenarios. Had he been discovered as a Champion? Did she some how figure out he had a crush on her? Or perhaps she heard about the "teddy bear incident". He was hoping for the the first one more than anything.

"What have you been hearing?" He calmly asked.

"Only that you're the best batter in Boston, and that pitching arm of yours is straight lethal." He was flattered at her compliments, it was a surprise she had heard of his accomplishments. "Coach Willis wants to know if you re interested in trying out for something else. Since baseball season is over."

"What's the offer?"

"He wants you on the football team, you have a good arm, you can catch, and run fast. So running back or quarterback is a good spot for you. But if you really want to impress some people, go running back."

He was surprised that the football coach wanted him on the team. The football and baseball players have been known to be aggressively competitive, which surprised him even more. If he were to take this offer, this would most likely impress her, so he decided to take the coach up on the offer and even test his luck a little bit.

"Which one would impress you?" His response got a chuckle out of her, which was a good sign.

"Honestly, I think you could do some serious damage as running back. I've seen a few of your games, and the crowd goes wild when you leave the opponents in dust."

"Well running back it is."

"Good, my name's Beverly by the way, Beverly Kelly." She offered out her hand.

He took a moment to pinch himself before he gave her soft hand a nice firm shake.

"I'm gonna tell the coach your answer, he'll be pretty happy to hear. And I'll be happy to cheer for your first game." He couldn't help the red tint flushing over his cheeks, Oscar ran a hand through his curly black mini fro, Beverly came to a sharp stop turned back to him. She fiddled in her jacket pocket and pulled a small slip of paper.

"I almost forgot, here's my number in case you need to get in touch. Bye Oscar." She then walked out of the class, and he watched her every step of the way. He definitely wasn't in love, not one single bit. After entering her number, he sent a text to Brock confirming it.

'THERE DEFINITELY IS NO ONE!' He forgot to turn off caps.

He then followed with a text to Jayson asking for help.

* * *

Nexus

"Try turning it on then off again." Solomon suggested as he took a seat on the couch's arm rest.

"It's not that simple Solomon. This isn't your grandmother's radio we're talking about, this is highly advanced technology. And how do you get here?" Solomon answered Jayson's question with a shrug. He always answered that question with a shrug.

"I have my ways, and so far the Elders haven't killed me for it. Or that floating head thingy."

"Whatever, I need you to hold this." Jayson tossed a small glowing blue orb, the size of a golf ball at Solomon. He caught it and began to inspect the object. "Don't drop it. Too much agitation and it'll level this place entirely." Solomon's face went ghost white.

"So this thing right here can kill everyone here?!"

"No I'm just fucking with you, the Nexus has a stabilization field in and outside of it. Of it were to break, all the cosmic energy would be absorbed into the Nexus. But on Earth it would have the destructive force of three nuclear bombs. Maybe four." Solomon wiped a singular drop of sweat from his forehead.

"What is this for anyway?" Solomon asked.

"Cabrakhan wants me to help him assemble a translocater. It's essentially something that'll allow Janus to teleport us with making a portal and risking enemies going through." In Jayson's hand was a small square cartridge, the item he'd been tinkering on for hours, possibly days even.

"That'd be super helpful, but you and Cabrakhan are serious nerds."

"I gotta use my degree some how, you just focus on getting that diploma sonny." Jayson had him there, Solomon was still in his junior year. He had gotten held back for missing class due to a lengthy suspension. Which may or may not have been because of him putting fireworks in one of his teachers cabinets.

"I won't make any promises Jayson."

"You're bright Solomon, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, just don't be an asshole." Solomon didn't know if he should be flattered or a bit offended.

"Did someone say asshole?" A large blue figured had materialized from thin air, and wrapped their arms around Jayson.

"Oh, hey hon." Jayson casually greeted Kali.

Solomon thought it'd be rude to watch, but he was curious on the logistics of this relationship. He heard stories from the other East Nexus Champions about these two, most of them being described in horrific detail about their sexual deviancy.

"What're you doing love?" Kali asked.

"Working on this translocater, it's supposed to help us in the field. I can't get it right though, but I have a vague idea on what to do." Kali planted a peck on the side of his temple, and Jayson smiled as he worked.

"That's great, I'm so proud of my little scientist Champion." They were surprisingly normal, which was a shock considering Kali wasn't a human.

"Thanks for the sentiment Kali, I might've figured this shit out. Me and Cabrakhan just need to test this out, then we'll just make copies and distribute it to everyone. Maybe when the North Nexus Champions start doing their thing we'll let them test it."

"They haven't started fighting yet?" Kali asked with surprise evident in her voice.

"We just got our armor fitted and weapons forged by Ares, we haven't hunted any Darkbeast yet." Solomon spoke up form the coach, Kali raised a brow at this and began to mutter to herself before speaking once again.

"Don't be nervous, they aren't that tough, the tough ones are the ones with names. Unnamed Darkbeast are very weak."

"Thanks for the tips Kali."

"Hey Solomon, can I get the core?" Jayson held out his hand, expecting what he needed.

"What's that?" He asked.

"What I asked you to hold and not to lose." Solomon began to look around nervously, until he noticed the smell of smoke. He looked down to see a searing hole in the couch. He looked through the hole, noticing it not only went through the couch, but the floor and several others under that, until a shriek was heard underneath them. "Solomon...where's the core?"

 **"JAYSON!"** Cabrakhan roared from several floors beneath them, Jayson swore under his breath knowing he'd be in deep trouble.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Nexus

"Again." A cold voice ordered.

Several shards of metal soared through the air, ripping through the clay bodies of the training dummies. They hit the ground twitching violently as rocks flew from their wrecked bodies.

"Good job, let's try this again." She summoned another group of clay soldiers, only for them to be destroyed by another volley of metal.

"What did the Elders say Nu?" Peter blankly asked.

"Huh?" His question caught her off guard.

"About the battle? Did they ever talk to you about it?" His question caused Nu Wa to go quiet for a moment. It was as if she were trying to remember.

"They talked to all Gods about it. They weren't angry at us, they never are angry with us. All we were told was that, we must continue our training and we must quell this threat. They hold out on us a lot, four seprate beings with three different faces with three different minds. Sounds like a bunch of confusion to me." Peter had been very confused at what was said, this expierence was vastly different from his. He was starting to wonder if what even happened with him was real.

"I talked to a floating head."

"That wasn't an Elder, it's the avatar of the East Elder. You're not ready to see the Elders themselves." He sighed at that, he was starting to hate the fact they were never "ready" enough. Even though they saved the damn realm. "But I think you're ready." A her hand was placed on his shoulder, a warm feeling flowed through him. Then suddenly it was replaced by a burning chill sensation coursing through his shoulder. Nu's face wore a shocked expression.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked.

"Don't be mad, but I froze your shoulder." He looked onto his right shoulder, to see his entire shoulder covered in a thick sheet of ice.

"Thanks Nu."

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading the start of a new and better story. I'm feeling better about this series already, since my grammar and writing skills have greatly improved since then. Constructive criticism would be very much appriciated, since this story can't improve without it. And I'm open to anyone who'd like to help write this with me. My buddy Twinblade is helping me out again, and we're very open to anyone else who wants to join. Expect a new chapter some time, the wait may be long due to certain factors and since I'm not making fast food chapters anymore. Thanks for reading this and peace out.

-GB


	2. Recovery

Boston, Massachusetts

"Another nightmare?" Bellona had asked from the darkest corner of his room.

Oscar had awoken from his slumber covered in sweat and hyper-ventilating. He leaned forward so that he may sit up, Bellona watched over the boy like a hawk. This action wasn't something she was open to at first. When she heard that some Gods shared rooms with their Champions, she was rather against it. But that was back when she viewed him as just a Champion, but when she decided to learn about the boy, she learnt they're not too different from each other. And even their differences often sparked interesting conversations.

"Yeah, but it was different this time." He muttered under his breath, she could almost feel the knot in his chest. His voice was cracked every few words, though he was more timid than other Champions, Oscar didn't cry. He cried even less when under the watch of Bellona, last time he did was three years ago, a few months after being her Champion. Why he cried that day she'd never know, and she was fine with that.

"Was it about what happened? When Calamity pierced your chest?" Her voice was more soft than usual. So soft that it actually disturbed him, as for her question, he wasn't sure himself.

"Yes, and no." He responded.

For someone his age, he's had more than enough brushes with death. From sickness to being stabbed in the chest, he's been through it all. It surprised him that he some how managed to carry on when most these things were so out of his league. He was just some kid who could play baseball, now he's fighting monsters from another plane of existence. He was aware that there were dangers to this job, but not aware of how dangerous it could get.

"Bellona...can I tell you something?" He wiped his forehead that still ran beads of sweat down his face.

"Of course, please do tell."

"When Calamity had stabbed me..." His voice trailed off, it was too much for him to say but he wanted to anyway. He hadn't even told Brock this, and the boy was his best friend. But there was a certain sense of trust he had with Bellona. A certain bond, one that had feeling he couldn't explain himself. After a solid minute of silence, he finally found those words he was looking for. "When he stabbed me...I died."

Though the darkness shrouded her face, he could tell she was dread. She didn't hear about what happened to him until he was in a stable condition. She was never told that he had actually died, though when he was pierced she felt something in her. A feeling that let her know something wasn't right. Bellona felt her stomach twist and she started feeling nauseous, this news made her sick.

"When I was taken back to the Nexus, Hel was able to revive me. But in those few minutes...I experienced years. Years worth of trauma, I saw the afterlife. I know what happens to us when we die, I know where we go..." He took a moment to gather himself before continuing. "And I see it every night when I sleep, when you die, the worst part of your life plays over and over and over. Like some sick loop, and it only stopped when Hel revived me."

If only she had known, if she knew he had went through this, he'd never have to fight again. She'd never leave his side, for as long as either of them live.

"I would never know what horrors you've witness on the other side. But I do now this, you'll face stronger enemies than those Darkbeast. I would know from experience that the next is more traumatic then the last. You walk the path of a warrior, and that means you'll be walking hand in hand with tragedy."

"But what if that path isn't for me? I'm just some kid from Boston, and...when compared to the others I'm not as strong." Her hand brushed over his shoulder, a feeling of warmth flowed through him. For a moment, all the fear and troubles faded away.

"You helped the other's defeat the Darkbeast and save your world. And to do that, takes a lot of strength. So if you're the weakest and you managed to save the Realm, I could never ask for a better Champion." After those kind words, Bellona flashed one of her rare smiles. Not one that she flashed whenever she'd punish him with an extra work out or laughed at him for doing something dumb. It was one of genuine love and care.

"Thanks Bellona, you really know what to say sometimes. I wish there were more people like you."

"I do too. My Champion, I must take my leave. You must remember to stay strong, if not for me, then for your Realm." A bright green light glowed onto him, a portal constructed by Janus had manifested onto his wall. Bellona stopped at the base of the portal, she turned back and gave a small nod before entering the portal. Then it closed.

She was right, he needed to be strong. Not only for himself but for the rest of the realm. People were counting on him without knowing it, and he had to protect them. But before any of that, he needed some rest. Tomorrow after school is football practice.

* * *

 _The next day_

For his first day of football practice, things didn't go horribly. No amount of push ups or sit ups would ever compare to when he and Bellona spared. But what made practice a challenge wasn't anything he had to do, but outside influences. Beverly Kelly, head of the cheer squad happened to set up her practice not too far from the field. He often found himself distracted by her and made some stupid mistakes. But asides from that, things weren't that bad. When practice concluded it turns out he had no ride home, this meant he had to walk.

"Hey, it's Oscar right?" He turned to see Beverly, in her blue and white cheer attire looking right at him. He was lost for words, how could this girl look anymore beautiful than she already was? He cleared his throat and tried to act as cool as possible.

"Uhh yeah, Oscar's the name, haha!" He could tell she saw right through his act, but she laughed which was a good sign according to Jayson.

"Okay, well do you have a ride?" She asked.

"Nah, my...friend was supposed to be picking me up." He almost admitted to getting rides from his mother, but she caught onto him almost dropping that information.

"Oh, my mom had to work late today. So I'll be walking home today, I actually live in your neighborhood. I'm a few houses down from you." Oscar was screaming on the inside, the girl of his dreams was walking home with him, she lived a few houses down from him, and she got rides from her mom. The last one made him feel slightly less embarrassed to do so as well. "Saw you practice today, I gotta say you did a good job. Especially for it being your first time."

If Oscar was a few shades lighter, a deep red blush would've washed over his face. His mind immediately went into the gutter when she said that, he then stammered over his words till he formed a coherent sentence.

"So...uh you did...ummm pretty good too." His hand awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, he watched as his feet walked down the sidewalk. "So...when's our first game?" Oscar asked.

"We got at least two more weeks until our first game, don't worry I know you'll kill it." He couldn't help but smile slightly, the fact she had confidence in his ability made him slightly giddy.

"Thanks Beverly, I didn't think you'd have such faith in me."

"Of course I do, I did see your baseball games."

He couldn't be anymore flattered at this point, it was as if fate itself had sent this girl down from the heavens to sweep him off his feet. Oscar was head over heels with this girl, and there was absolutely nothing that could change that.

"Have you heard of the Skyburners?" Where had he heard of that name before?

"Rings a bell, who or what are they?"

"You haven't seen the video?! Oh my god, so you know the fiasco that went down in downtown Boston last year? Well, everyone knows that it wasn't a freak accident or terrorist attack. It was a battle that destroyed most the city! Well in this one video of the battle, this lady recorded six figures falling from the sky. And as they fell the sky looked like it was burning behind them, and then they battled those monsters! It was so freaking cool!"

And that could be the one thing that changes it.

Oscar was speechless, on one hand he thought it was cool that she was fascinated with his "Superhero" alter ego. But the fact that the Champions were now public knowledge wasn't a good sign.

"Oscar you still there?" She asked.

"Oh yeah! I just spaced out for a bit. Yeah I know about these guys." He attempted to hide the nervousness so he could possibly change the conversation. But a gut feeling told him that it wouldn't be so easy.

"It just really makes me wonder, if guys like these exist, what else? The Skyburners could be aliens from another world or something."

"Yeah, definitely. Or they could be government agents?" Beverly scoffed his suggestion off as just conspiracy theory garbage. Oscar didn't mind, she didn't know the identities of the Champions, or Skyburners, as they were known by the public.

"I've been wondering, do you have any friends?" Her delivery was so blunt that it surprised him, Oscar once again began to stumble over his words.

"W-well...I just have a small circle that's all. The few friends I have are pretty spread out around the school and-"

"I get it Oscar. Are you going to be busy this weekend?" She asked, Oscar found himself lost for words. He didn't want to jump to conclusions and think she'd want to hang out with him. After all, what did he have to offer.

"I don't think I have any plans, why'd you ask?" Beverly looked away slightly and coughed.

"I want to hang out with you, maybe we can head to the fair? It's in town and I was planning to go anyways." Oscar had caught a frog in his throat and struggled to choke out the corrected words.

"Yeah sure! I'd love to go with you." Beverly smiled softly and fished out her pocket book, she scribbled something onto a slip of paper and handed it to him.

"Well this is my stop, I'll see you at school." She gave him a wink and began to walk to her house, Oscar watched her with a deer in the headlights expression. The slip of paper almost flew out of his hands as he watched.

When she entered her house, he looked down at the slip she handed to him. It was the date, time, and location of the fair, the last letter was connected to a small heart. If this wasn't a sign, then perhaps he was just really lucky.


	3. Something in Bosnia

_**Bosnia and Herzegovina**_

In the dark and secluded forest of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ambient sounds of rain hitting the forest floor. The occasional strike of lightning broke the near silence as well as lighting up the forest. A group of elk too off as the lightning struck, some even tripped down the muddy side of a hill. The mangled and broken body of a deer twitched as its innards were being ripped out and shoved into the gaping maw of the disgusting creature. The creature's pitch black "flesh" was stained with the blood and viscera of the poor elk, the Dark beast let out a horrific ear piercing screech. It watched the gang of elk scurry off, the Dark beast would hate for a meal to escape it. Its mouth went agape as it began to charge of a fierce orb of light, the orb was so large that it had to dislocate its jaw to fit the sheer size of it.

Right before the Dark beast could fire, its body shot backwards and fired a laser into the night sky. The Dark beast collided into the ground, it pushed itself up and took a look at its chest. A hole the size of a golf ball was punched through its upper pectoral, that's when the pain set in and it let out another shriek. The Dark beast was then hit in its right shoulder and left hip, it began to fire orbs of purple energy in every direction in rapid succession. Large fireballs appeared throughout the forest as the attack continued, as the Dark beast fired away a small spherical shaped object made of steel landed next to it's foot. It then exploded in a blinding violet light, the force sent the Dark beast flying through the stalk of a tree. The Dark beast's once shadow colored skin was now greying, the object emitted an ultraviolet light that scorched its skin. The beast cried out in pain and thrashed around, four harpoons then lodged into the body of the Dark beast. Before it could react, electricity surged through the cables and began to electrocute the beast. It continued until the beast was put unconscious from the sheer amount of pain it was put under.

Six figures appeared out of thin air. All sporting military armo, their vest, leg armor, gauntlets, and helmets were snow white. Under the armor were thin black fleeces and pants, the undershirts and pants were made of a special weave that defended against most weaponary and hazards. The soldiers wore balaclavas and blue tinted goggles that aided in the obscuring of their identities. Four of them carried long rifles, out of the barrels extended long cables that were no longer discharging electricity. The other two wielded large sniper rifles of the SR-25 platform, one of the snipers stepped forward and approached the beast. The soldier pressed a a button on the side of his helmet, he was connected to the radio channel of someone called "Baseplate".

"This is Raider 0-1, we nabbed the little shit." The man's voice was cold and gruff sounding, there was silence on the other side of the communication, then the other end's voice broke through.

"Good work Raider, we've already sent a dropship for extraction. You and the rest of Masako team report back to the danger room for debrief, Baseplate out."

"Captain Holloway, what now?" One of the soldiers asked.

"We wait." The captain responded flatly.

* * *

 ** _The Eastern Nexus_**

"That's odd, the Dark beast's signal just disappeared." Jayson thought out loud as he watched the screen, Soloman came up from behind him and watched over his shoulder.

"Yeah and?" He asked.

"They only disappear when they're killed." Solomon went quiet and continued to watch Jayson, who pulled up a small black box akin to command prompt on most computers. On the gigantic screen it zoomed in on the signal and and image of Bosnia appeared, he had its location but in that area there were no cameras to hack into.

"What could've killed it?" Asked Solomon.

"Most Dark beast start out as spores, they're usually a weaker copy of their original counterpart. So it could be possible that it was just a young Dark beast that was killed by a wolf or bear. The powerful and named Dark beast are live births, but those kind are rare since very few can withstand Dark beast mating." Solomon nodded, Jayson continued to do every thing he could to get a peek of the area.

"How come you just can't send someone in there?" Solomon asked.

"I can't, I need Cabrakhan's approval, if I send anyone in there I could risk getting in trouble."

"I gotcha but what if it bites us in the ass later?" Solomon posed a decent question.

"We'll have to deal with it then." Jayson rubbed his temples in frustration, he knew that the Dark beast wasn't killed by an animal, but he didn't know what else it would be killed by. He wanted to believe it was an animal, but something told him that wasn't the full truth.

Half an hour later

In the training grounds of the Nexus, Brock sat on a bench restringing his bow, though his eyes were closed he felt somebody sit beside him.

"Hola Jayson." Brock greeted.

"Hello to you as well." However Jayson wasn't the only person who entered the training room, Dmitri, Margaret, and Peter entered the room as well. It was a team meeting, with the exceptions of Oscar and Suzie.

"Privyet Brock." Dmitri greeted in his native tongue, he sat on the other side of Brock. Jayson cleared his throat and began to pace around the bench, he had something to say.

"So the reason why I called this meaning is because we may have a problem on our hands. About thirty minutes ago I detected a Dark beast in Bosnia, then it suddenly disappeared. They Only disappear when they're killed, which leads me to it. We need to figure out what killed it!" Everyone gave Jayson a blank expression, they were not amused in the slightest.

"You interrupted Soviet Union Sailor Scouts to tell us that shitty unnamed Dark beast were killed?" Dmitri became more and more agitated as he thought about it. "I just finished volume two, Natya revealed to Petrinkov that she's a Sailor Scout."

"I don't wanna know what any of that means." Peter muttered under his breath, but the Russian teen heard the other boy.

"Ugh, you Americans have such terrible taste in everything." Peter raised a brow in confusion while Margaret attempted to stifle a snicker.

"I'm Canadian." Peter stated.

"I'm from Britain." Margaret added.

"Same thing, you guys are in the same continent right?" Dmitri asked.

"Guys!" Solomon shouted out gaining everyone's attention, him and Jayson were hard at work trying to figure out who or what killed the beast. All this bickering was making it even harder to do.

A familiar bright green light had flashed on the group, and out from a portal walked Suzie. Margaret ran at Suzie full speed and leapt into a tight embrace, the other boys watched and then quickly turned their heads when the girls detached from each other. Suzie looked up at the screen, she was familiar with the Dark Beast Detector, also know as the Danger Map. Another addition to the long list of Danger things, Danger Room, Danger Zone, Danger Map, Danger Danger, etc.

"What's with the map of Poland?" Suzie asked looking up at the screen, Jayson looked back in surprise.

"Aren't you in college?" He asked.

"Yeah, not for Geography though."

"Fair point." Solomon added.

"Anyways, what's this about nerds?" Suzie asked.

"We picked up a dead Dark Beast on the Danger Map, we have no idea what killed it." Jayson quickly briefed Suzie, she cupped her chin and began to think to herself. The others couldn't help but watch, thinking she'd provide some sort of insight on the situation at hand.

"Have you tried asking Cabrakhan?" Her suggestion had everyone slumped over. "Cabrakhan is really smart, so it'd be a good idea to ask."'

"Now that she mentioned it, why didn't we just ask him?" Margaret asked, the others began to agree with Suzie, leaving Jayson as the only person left to agree.

"Because, we're self reliant Champions! And we can figure out things on our own. Now I'm going to figure this out, you guys are dismissed. Get some sleep, I know it's night time for at least one of you." The other Champions gave their goodbyes to Jayson and left the room, Peter pulled his holodisc and went home, the others made their way to the commons or Rec room.

* * *

 _An hour later_

"So would rather break both your legs? Or have Ravana break both your legs?" It seems like Dmitri was anticipating a different answer, everyone was getting tired of this game of would you rather.

"Just like the last time you asked, I'd rather break my legs." Margaret dryly stated.

"Okay next question! Would you rather break your-"

"Better question! Would you rather bang Nu wa or Hel?" Brock interrupted Dmitri to ask, Margaret let out a sharp gasp and shot Brock a fierce glare, the other Champions thought the question was pretty funny.

"Brock, how uncouth of you!" She turned her head away from him and made a disgusted groan.

"No comment." Dmitri simply stated, it was understandable since he was in a relationship, however he did have an answer in his head.

"Two personalities can be very interesting...but does she change them on will? Or is it dependent on something? Like a sneeze?" Suzie thought aloud, sparking up another conversation entirely.

"Well on the other hand, Nu wa is like the perfect girlfriend on paper. She's completely out of your league and better than you at everything and has nothing but uncondiotional love for you. But Peter has told me some horror stories, don't piss Nu wa off. She's like that ex girlfriend that'll kill you when you least expect it." Brock raised good point, Nu and Hel both had extremely murderous potential.

"Is Kali an option?" Solomon asked.

"Nah man, that's like messing with a married woman. Hands off her, home wrecker!" Brock playfully jabbed the other boy in his shoulder, Dmitri cupped his chin as he entered a state of deep thought.

"What about Bellona?" Dmitri asked.

"Nah man that's all Oskie." Brock replied.

"As if! He wants nothing to do with her!" Suzie spat back.

"I guess you have a point, he has a girlfriend already." Suzie's eyes widened in pure surprise, she cleared her throat in an attempt to appear more calm. "Well...girlfriend is a bit too strong of a word. They're just feeling each other up."

"She's what?!" Brock then realized what he just said and stumbles over his words to fix it.

"Feeliing each other out, nothing inappropriate...yet. But why are you so worried about it?" Suzie became flushed and her speech devolved into nothing but word salad.

"I'd choose Nu wa!" She exclaimed at the top of her lungs, Dmitri raised his hand in agreement and so did Solomon. Brock would rather be with Hel, he was surprised that he was in the unpopular opinion. But there was still one more person that hadn't answer, so perhaps he could be 2-3 instead of being by himself.

"So Margaret-"

"I'm not playing this, it's so objectifying and wrong, you're viewing them as sex symbols!"

"Would you be saying the same thing if we asked would you rather bang Ravana or Thor?" Solomon's question caused Margaret to flush a thick shade of red, she was almost as red as an apple.

"Hel!" Though more people were in favor of the other choice, he could at least be a little happy that someone was willing to hypothetically bang Hel with him, even though they might not've meant it fully.

* * *

 ** _Back in Bosnia_**

 _An two hours later_

Walking out from a portal, the science duo Cabrakhan and Jayson tracked down the once active signal of the Dark Beast. Jayson used the flashlight built into his helmet to search the area, just as he thought he didn't find anything but critters. The cone of light came to a stop when he found something horrifying.

"Cabrakhan!" Jayson called out to the God and he came rushing over, the hulking figure recoiled in shock when he took in the sight. "Think it could be a bear?"

An eviscerated deer was sprawled out across the grass, its inards were bundled up outside of its body in a disgusting display. The smell of it was like nothing else either of them ever smelt, they knew the stench of dead animals but this was something else entirely.

"It can't be, look at the wounds." Jayson knelt down and inspected the wound.

Its stomach was ripped wide open and intestines were pulled right out, he knew that bears and wolves were capable of causing serious damage to animals. But he hadn't seen nor detected any other life forms in this forest, he could only assume this was the Dark Beast's doing. After all, no bear or wolf smelled as badly as a feral Dark Beast.

"We're close to the signal, let's get going." Cabrakhan walked off, after observing the carcass for a bit longer he rose from his position and followed Cabrakhan.

He found Cabrakhan standing in the middle of a large patch of burnt grass. Jayson utilized his flashlight once again, to find out that there wasn't just one burn patch. There was many, some trees had been toppled over and burnt down, thick black smog raised into the air and in the section of grass Cabrakhan stood in, the tip of the grass blades were coated in a bright purplish substance. He crouched down and ran a finger along the blade, the substance was a clear contrast to the black plated gloves.

"Ultraviolet." Jayson thought aloud as he observed, Cabrakhan muttered something to himself, something the Champion couldn't pick up.

"It seems like there are mysterious forces at play, Champions aren't the only ones hunting these creatures." Cabrakhan nodded in a sign of silent confirmation. "Question is...are they on our side?"

"My protégé, only time will tell." Cabrakhan states as a portal opens behind them, the God's time limit on Earth had ran out. It was time for them to head back to the Nexus, the two walk into the portal departing from Earthrealm.

The forest was dead silent.


End file.
